Truth and Fiction in Writing Biography and Autobiography

 

Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay

When we are not truthful and why

 We take liberties with the truth to make our text interesting.

 How do we choose what to put in and what to leave out? How does what we leave out contribute to what we are saying?

We exaggerate. We by overemphasize the significance of something. We may make something bigger or smaller than it actually was.   

 We are discreet. We leave some facts out so that people are not hurt.

We invent to fill gaps. This may be a genuine attempt to use our imagination to work out what has happened. Indeed this is a technique used frequently in fantasy and science fiction but perhaps also more surprisingly in historical fiction. How might they have managed something that looks impossible?   

Our memory may not be reliable. We might remember several versions of an event, particularly if it is disturbing. Others may also remember a particular event differently.  

We may colour what happened with our current emotions. If something happened a lot time ago we may have spent years analysing it and rationalising it. Writing with the senses can help us to avoid this.  Immerse yourself back in the scene. What did you see, hear, smell, feel - in both senses of the word? Importantly what was the reaction to that scene then, not now?      

Some points to ponder

1.  Why are we not fully truthful in autobiography?
2.  What are we saying by what we leave out?
3. Why do we write autobiography?

More on writing about yourself

 

Some advantages of using relationships

  To tell our own stories we need to tell the stories of those around us.

  We have colourful characters on tap.

  We are the gap between the interactions of those amongst us.

  Our psychology depends on the psychology of others.

Some ethical issues

  We are stealing the stories of others.

  How would you feel if you were used in somebody else’s story?

  You could be charged with slander, libel, defamation of character if you are not careful.

  What right do we have to make judgements about others?

  Note the difference between writing biography and autobiography from writing fiction, though you can use the same techniques that you use in writing fiction.  Indeed, if you do, your text may be more engaging to the reader.     

Slices of life

You can indeed enliven your text with:

  Vignettes

  Scenes

  A competent handling of time and space

  Making sure that all that you write shows place, personality or action

Exercise

Write about a scene from your life that includes a colourful character. Can you write it in such a way that there would be no chance of this character charging you with slander, libel, or defamation of character?  Use some techniques you might apply to fiction to enliven your text: have a good narrative balance of dialogue, action, description, inner monologue and very little exposition.  Show, don’t tell.   

Reflecting

 

 

S. Hermann & F. Richter via Pixabay

When we read we get a sense of time and place when the writer tells us about specific localities.  We get more vivid impressions when they mention places we know. Perhaps they also present topics of national importance – these days if you’re in the UK that might be about politics, our trains systems and our relationship with Europe. The may allude to international matters such as migration, international conflicts and climate change. In memoir or autobiography the writers also tell us about themselves. They will set the external matters to the appropriate times and places.    

What things come to mind when you think about your life on:

•         A local level?

•         A national level?

•         An international level?

•         Also, what are your interests? What do they reveal about the larger culture?

Use these in a balanced way to produce a piece of autobiography or memoir.  

Editing your novel

Image by Anne Karakash from Pixabay

So, the first draft of your novel is finished.  Now the editing starts.  I personally do one edit at a time. Perhaps this really proves that writing is mainly rewriting.

The three (+) stages of editing 

•      The structural edit

•      Writers’ techniques  / skills edit / technical edit

•      The words

•      The proof read

•      Creative editing 

The structural edit

•         Is the structure sound?

•         Is the resolution satisfying?     

•         Does the overall time-scale work? (You may have already planned a time structure into your novel but it is still worth checking that it is right.)

•         Is this actually a young adult novel?

•         Are characters consistent and rounded? Do they grow?

•         Is there cause and effect?

•         Is there tension and pace?   

Writers’ techniques

•         Is the dialogue working correctly?

•         Is there a narrative balance?

•         Is the balance of showing and telling right?

•         Are points of view consistent?

•         Are the style and the voice consistent?    

The words

•         Kill off your darlings

–     Are they too good for the rest of you text?

–     Can you match them?

–     If all of the text is like this will it become too rich.   

•         Get rid of  clichés

–     Note clichés work – but you can say it even better

•         Do a thorough copy edit

–     Check every single word. Do you mean what you say and say what you mean? 

•         Read out loud.

–     You spot mistakes more easily

–     You can test overall flow   

Proof read

•         Normally this happens when the book is about to go off to the printer.

•         Three people proof read:  the author, the editor and a professional proof-reader. 

•         It saves your publisher a lot of time and money if you do this yourself before you send in your scrip.  Be warned though: they’ll still spot something.

•         Professional proof readers use a special mark-up language. It’s useful to learn this.

•         Many also now use track Changes in Microsoft Word. You should get used to this.    

Creative editing

•         Look at one aspect at a time.

•         Maybe change the font for each edit. (Don’t forget to change it back later.) 

•         Start at a different point for each edit. (Some maths involved here.)

•         Be aware of your own particular faults and look for those also.       

Getting help from critique groups

•         You must be selective.

•         Find one that specialises in what you write.  

•         Will the group’s style suit you? Are they too laid back or too strict?

•         Remember, you can learn as much by looking at other people’s work as by looking at your own.

•         Works often sent out in advance so that you read it and prepare your comments before the meeting.  

•         Be aware of developing a “house style”. Your group may have particular preferences.     

•         Consider also an online group. 

Beta readers

• This name comes from IT.
• They meet the completed text only – gets away from house styles / over familiarity of group.
• They might be other writers, target readers, or experts on your  theme or setting.
• Six is perhaps a good number.
• Allow them to comment on any aspect of your work regardless of why you have selected them.  
• You could print a proof copy of your book to make it easier to read or you could turn it into a mobi-file so that your beat readers can read it on their Kindle.        

Paid editing

• You pay someone to edit your work.  This can be very expensive.  
• New editing companies and freelancers arrive all the time.  On the whole you get what you pay for. Some are very good. Some are less good. Always get references / endorsements.
• They may be worth it if you keep getting rejections but critique groups and beta readers like your work.
• They are probably essential if you want to self-publish.
• Two further thoughts:
• Is this a career path for you? Could you also become an editor?
• Could you form a cooperative?  Writers edit each other’s’ work.